The Wright Family Parade

Hilton Head Island 08/2010, by Kimberly Wright

2010-11-07T11:17:00.001-08:00

I'd like to share my Walgreens Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes

2010-10-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

All the cool stuff for sale...with not so cool prices (=

Waving bye to David (had to go back to work).

This was the part of the show that Julia has talked about endlessly (=

The dragon made a huge impression.

In her Sunday best...

2010-09-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

First Annual International Biscuit Festival?

2010-06-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hmm...we were puzzled about what to expect from a biscuit festival, but it was actually a pretty impressive event ( = Unfortunately, they underestimated the crowd of people hungry for biscuits and most of the vendors had run out when Julia and I arrived, so no more tasting tickets were being sold. It's just as well, though...thirty or so booths of biscuits, sorgham, honey, jellies, etc. couldn't possibly be good for anyone's diet. But we walked around market square, listened to some music, and enjoyed the atmosphere. Later, David left the office and joined us for lunch, so it was a nice day.

Our baby doll (=

2010-05-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

2010-05-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

David took this while he and Julia were playing outside today. Every year, our little magnolia tree has added maybe one blossom each summer. But this year, it looks like they've doubled...in number and in size ( =

2010 Children's Festival of Reading

2010-05-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours told us about a festival today at World's Fair Park and I am so glad that she did (= I packed a picnic lunch for Julia and me and we headed downtown to see what was going on. She was a bit grumpy at first (it was her nap time) so she was a bit overwhelmed (LOTS of people). I asked her what she wanted to do and she said EAT RIGHT NOW. Okay then. We sat in front of the main stage on our beach towels, ate our lunch, and listened to a children's author speak (he was actually pretty interesting). While we were finishing up, I spotted the Olson's with their daughter Ella and we all went over to put our feet in the fountains and chit chat for a bit before they headed out to get some lunch. After lunch, Julia perked up and had a great time the rest of the afternoon (face painting, bouncy castles, arts and crafts, etc.). AND we got a big stack of children's books for $3.50, along with a bunch of random free stuff (stickers, etc.). Nice day!

Splash Pad

2010-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I took Julia to the splash pad for the first time this summer...she had a ball, so I'm sure we'll be spending a LOT of time this year. Also ran into her friend Carson from school...they were both SO excited when they recognized each other (=

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge

2010-05-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Julia and Kaitlyn

2010-05-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Good Friday!

2010-04-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

It was great to have a whole day during the week with my girl again! We went downtown to see How to Train Your Dragon (two thumbs up) and stopped in to see David before the movie. Julia loves to see her Daddy at the office (= After the movie, we headed over to Market Square to enjoy the sunshine, listen to some sidewalk musicians, and let Julia play in the fountains. We walked back to the parking garage and Julia fell sound asleep before I had even finished paying for parking...

Church Easter Party

2010-03-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year!!

2010-02-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not even a baseball fan, but I was so happy today to head to the ballpark on a warm, sunny day to watch the Vols play ball. Julia had a great time and was most impressed by: (1) Smokey (puppy gog!); (2) M&Ms; (3) dancing to the music; and (4) playing tag with random kids on the concourse. Note that none of these things have anything to do with baseball, but that's okay...her mother feels the same way ( =

Sharks are SCARY (=

2010-02-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

We had a great day today...took Julia to the aquarium, then we walked around Gatlinburg a bit and went to lunch, and then hit the outlet mall for a few things. Julia thought the aquarium was great with the exception of the shark lagoon (I think the moving escalator, fish tunnel, dim lighting and ominous music were just too much). Still, it was a good day for all. We didn't take our camera, but David did capture this with his phone ( =

Daddy's Little Girl?

2010-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Our in-laws came this weekend and babysat for us while we went out for a nice, quiet Valentine's Day dinner and a movie ( = On Sunday, while Julia was being silly and showing off for her company, Julia's mamaw asked, "Julia do you always get everything you want?" Julia paused for a moment and looked back and forth between David and I. Then, as clear as a bell, she said, "if Daddy's home!" David looked a bit chagrined that she's now old enough to tattle tale on us ( =

Sledding!!

2010-01-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yesterday was no good for sledding, but today was much better. Especially since our next door neighbors had been outside sledding at night after their daughter went to bed (it froze into a great run overnight). And they had a real sled, so we could abandon our swimming pool and took turns with them. Also, Andrew built a fire in the driveway, which we all enjoyed, including Julia. The run started at the top of their driveway and ended about three backyards down the hill...once we convinced Julia that it was fun instead of terrifying, we had a good time (the convincing was difficult since David ran them both into some bushes about a third of the way down the run...). I could have stayed outside all day, but Julia was hungry and sleepy and so we had to retire to the indoors for a while...

More Snow!

2010-01-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Julia's Big Girl Bed ( =

2010-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

Since Julia kept waking up and begging to sleep in the queen-sized guest bed (where she would sleep soundly once we moved her) we decided to go ahead and convert her toddler bed to a full-sized bed. She has been sleeping MUCH better and loves playing on her bed...and jumping, of course ( =

Snow in Tennessee!!

2010-01-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

We never get much (in fact, we usually get maybe one snowfall each year where anything actually sticks) so we have to enjoy our snow-dusting while it's here. Julia thought it was awesome and did NOT want to come back inside...

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas started this year with a trip to Springfield where Mom made an early Christmas dinner to match our early "Roof" Christmas celebration. Everything was perfect and the kids (Kaitlyn, Eliza, Andrew, Olivia and Julia) really enjoyed getting an early barage of presents before Santa even had his sleigh loaded. Pictures of this event are pending (Dad? Can you send some, please?). After that, Mamaw, Papaw, and Uncle Doug came to visit us at our house, leaving on Christmas Eve. Julia had another round of present opening and really enjoyed the play kitchen she got from the "Wright" Christmas celebration ( = On Christmas Eve, we went to the evening mass (where I packed an entire lunchbox of snacks for Julia to keep her occupied) and then home to put cookies out for Santa Claus and put Julia to bed. Christmas Day we spent opening MORE gifts from the jolly old fat man and playing WII ( = Finally, on Saturday, Grandma and Pap Pap Roof came to our house to visit and brought Julia even MORE gifts. It'll be a brutal reality for Julia when she realizes there are no more presents until November 30th of 2010!!

Julia's 2nd Birthday!

2009-12-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

Julia had a great 2nd birthday party with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and lots of her little friends. We can't believe we now have a big two-year old instead of our little baby girl!! Where does the time go?

Fantasy of Trees

2009-11-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

After a great Thanksgiving spent with Mamaw, Papaw, and Doug, for the first year ever we were able to get home in time to go to Fantasy of Trees in Knoxville (which is only open during Thanksgiving weekend). We all had a good time and I'm sure we're going to try to get there next year as well.

First Day of Preschool!!

2009-11-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Julia started her first day of preschool at Ebenezer Children's Academy. She'll be going MWF and I will be going back to work on those days ) = It'll be an adjustment for us both...I miss her already! This week she went TWF and I have to say, I'm glad that it'll just be every other day, because two days in a row was hard (=

Daddy said to put EVERYTHING back in my toy box...

2009-11-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

On the Friday night before Halloween, we took Julia to a park in Farragut to go trick or treating. She filled up her pumpkin, got to decorate a cookie, and took a bag of popcorn home to eat while she watched Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin...it was a great night (and since it rained Halloween night, we were SO glad we took her).

In the yard...

2009-10-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Church Halloween Party...

2009-10-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

David and I took Julia (along with Mamaw and Papaw) to the church Halloween party for a bit. Both Julia and I were still feeling a bit under the weather and I think she was still grouchy about us leaving her the night before...so she wasn't super excited to be put it mildly...

Visit to Pittsburgh...

2009-10-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to Pittsburgh and then Deep Creek, Maryland, to visit everyone and to pick up some furniture from my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was nice to see everyone and Julia did great on the long trip.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-10-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Mmm...

2009-10-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Julia was ecstatic with her ice cream sundae today...in fact on the way home, she chanted "eye cree, eye cree" (ice cream, ice cream) over and over again until the sugar rush wore off and she conked out.

One, two, free...

2009-10-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Julia shocked us today by counting to ten (= Now, since she's our first, we have no idea where this falls on the developmental spectrum...for all we know, other folks' 10 month olds are reciting their ABC's and multiplying by 9. All we know is that our 22 month old was stuck on three one day (and usually just counted to two over and over again) and the next day she counted to ten along with me while I was pushing her in a swing at the park. Two days after that, she was sitting in her carseat playing with a ball and she just counted to ten all by herself (= Actually, that first time she skipped 8, but since then, the number 8 is back in the line-up and she just wanders around the house counting to ten and clapping for herself every time she gets to the magic number. Adorable. How do they learn so fast?

Julia and Grandma

2009-10-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

Making Pizzas at Wee Play at the Zoo...

2009-10-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Julia-ism #1

2009-10-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Since Julia's getting pretty chatty now (not that we understand all, or even most, of what she says), I've decided to start blogging some of her gems so I don't forget (=

Yesterday, I asked Julia what she wanted for lunch. I normally ask her this question while I'm fixing her lunch and don't usually expect a response because she normally just shouts out whatever I'm pulling out of the fridge. But we were pulling into the driveway on our way back from the store when I asked her this time and she paused as if deep in thought. Then she stated emphatically, "Gergurt!" (Yogurt).

"Yogurt? That's great sweetheart, what else?"

A look of satisfaction from Julia as she realizes two things: One, I understand what she's saying. Two, she actually gets to make a decision.

With glee, "ka-cay!" (Cupcake).

Later, as she's eating a slice of cheese, some turkey, and her beloved yogurt, she suddenly pauses and says, "Mommy, mommy! Where ka-cay?" When I told her the yogurt was a good choice but we didn't have any cupcakes for lunch, she glared at me, pushed the whole plate away, crossed her arms over her chest, and refused to eat any more for a good five minutes. That's pure betrayal to a 22 month old, my friends.

Slumber Party!

2009-09-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Some pics of the kids having fun at bedtime at Tracy and Darrell's in Georgia (=

Andrew's Three!

2009-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

We all traveled down to Warner Robins for Andrew's 3rd Birthday party...he's getting so big! His gift from his mom and dad was power wheels jeep, which he was super excited about (= AND we all found out the next morning that he'll be getting another brother or sister sometime in May...

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

The family all gathered at Lake Winnie for Labor Day Weekend in Chattanooga and had a really great time. The kids love that park and Kaitlyn was so excited that with a quick growth spurt and some thick-soled shoes she was able to ride everything in the park now ( = She and Kaytria were happy that they could ride together without an adult and we were happy to not have to ride the scrambler WITH them over and over again.

Summer's End?

2009-08-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well, all of the big kids are back in school and the air was a bit cooler...I'm sure it'll be back in the 90s next week, but it still felt like our swimming days at the lake will soon be over ) =

Dollywood...

2009-08-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Lilly Roskind turned 6 years old this weekend and she wanted to go to Dollywood to celebrate...here are a few pics of the girls all together.

The Tennessee Rambler...

2009-08-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

It was Julia's Mamaw's birthday weekend, so we went to lunch and then all took a ride on the Tennessee Rambler...Julia loves choo-choos, so she had a good time and eventually a good nap (=

On the Square...

2009-08-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

While Mamaw and Papaw Wright were visiting, we took Julia to the farmer's market downtown and she had a ball playing in the fountains...

Her First "Pair-pane" ride!

2009-07-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Julia went with me in July to my cousin Melissa's wedding in Pittsburgh...it was great to see everyone and to let everyone see Julia again (she's getting so big!). We took a plane to Pittsburgh and she was SUCH a great little traveler. In the first picture, she was still half-asleep since it was not yet 5 a.m. but I had to get a pic of her at the airport with the plane in the background. Once we got on the plane she was delighted that she got both juice and cookies during the ride (=

Visiting Friends...

2009-07-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

My college friend, Dana, was in Tennessee visiting her parents for a bit before heading back to Wisconsin. It was great spending the day with her, her son, and her parents since I haven't seen her in such a long time. If you're reading this Dana, thank your parents again for letting us stay at their place before flying out the next morning!!

Just playing...

2009-07-07T17:12:00.001-07:00

Julia's favorite mud puddle...

Sadly, our girls finds bugs fascinating...

and a good stick is her favorite toy (=

Julia's First Cardinals Game...

2009-07-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

The Zoo folks has brought over a bunch of animals for the kids to see before the ballgame...Julia gets brave and pets a giant lizard. Julia's making her small screen debut (=

She has to share the spotlight with a parrot...

Couldn't fathom why the zoo brought a random dog with them...I guess kids just like dogs so they figured they'd toss him in next to the Red River Hog and the Armadillo?

She's great with the mascots, as long as they don't invade her personal space (=

Finally, the best part of the game, she says...

We spent July 4th weekend in Cincinnati with David's parents and his brother, Doug. Friday night we went to the Cardinals/Reds game and had a great time (Julia's first ball game included lots of pregame music and activities, a bald eagle flyover, a Pujols grandslam, a rookie's RBI in his first at-bat, a Cardinal's victory, some flaming paratroopers, and a great fireworks show...though her favorite things were the hot dog and ice cream in a hat). We all had a great weekend and Julia enjoyed spending some time with her Mamaw, Papaw, and Uncle Doug.

Lake Winnepasaukah...

2009-06-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

My mother, sister and I took all of the kids to Lake Winnie (an amusement park near Chattanooga). SUCH a nice park for little ones...lots of kiddie rides, a great playground, and a big splashpad...and you can actually bring your own cooler inside of the park. All of the kids rode everything they were able to according to their height and Julia even rode the log flume and her first kiddie coaster ( = Kaitlyn was also super brave and was so disappointed when she was deemed too short to ride the roller coasters (she rode other 48" or taller rides but I guess they were just extra strict on the coasters). I took off my socks so we could stuff her sandals, but even that left her a wee bit shy of the line (= Nonetheless, we had a great day and the kids were angels...every single one of them was so good. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I meant to, but here are a few.

Camping out...

2009-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this week I mustered my courage and took my 18 month old daughter and my 4 and 7 year old nieces camping...by myself. Of course, it was only for one night and we stayed in a camping cabin (a room with bunk beds and a double bed) and the next night we were joined by my sister and my mother (of course, they brought my 2 year old nephew and 1 year old niece...). It was exhausting for me (thank goodness I opted against pitching a tent...don't know how I would have done that alone while chasing around my daughter) but we ended up having a great time. The first night, I took the girls swimming in the pool and thank goodness the kiddie end was only 2 1/2 feet deep...it made the task of looking after the three of them much less daunting ( = We had some hot dogs on the grill, made the trip to the bathhouse for the night (thank goodness nobody had to pee at 3 a.m.) and (with the help of the girls' excellent kindling collecting) built a fire to roast marshmallows. It was a bit of a task keeping Julia out of the fire since she wanted to throw stuff in the fire just like the big girls were doing ( = She was finally worn out though and I was able to put her to sleep inside the cabin while the bigger girls finished their marshmallow roasting and discovered the joys of flashlights in the dark woods. Finally, we went inside where the girls hung a blanket down from the top bunk to make the bottom bunk a "tent" and they begged me tell them a spooky story (note: when a seven year old begs for a spooky story, don't do it...I ended up in a double bed with three little girls and eventually left them all in the big bed while I slept on the bottom bunk...). The girls were all extremely well behaved and enjoyed the "camp out". The next morning, I had the...ahem...pleasure of hiking us all over to the bathhouse for potties, showers, and teeth brushing, and then had to repack the car to meet the rest of the crew over at Lake Winnepasaukah for the second part of our adventure...all before 10 a.m.

Strawberry Fields...

2009-05-20T17:38:00.001-07:00

For playgroup today, we took the munchkins to pick some strawberries at a local orchard. They were adorable wandering around the strawberry patch and surprisingly focused on filling up the bucket ( = Of course, Julia ate her fair share of strawberries in the field...

Kaitlyn and Eliza - Soccer Phenoms ( =

2009-05-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

David, Julia and I were able to make it to Kaitlyn and Eliza's soccer games on Saturday and we all had a good time watching them (Julia had a good time practicing her walking and cheering on her cousins).

Step by Step

2009-05-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

At almost seventeen and a half months, Julia is finally taking her first steps!! We love watching her get more and more confident and we can tell she's proud of her new skill ( =

The Playgroup Trio...

2009-05-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday, Julia gets together with her friends Victor and Kaitlyn (and Amy, Dora and I get to talk to grown-ups during the day...win/win). Here are a couple of pics of them together...

Mother's Day...at Dollywood ( =

2009-05-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so our last post was a Dollywood, but Mother's Day was beautiful so we decided to use our passes...and here are a couple pictures of David with Julia ( =

Julia at Dollywood!

2009-05-04T12:48:00.001-07:00

Since it was my birthday today, I decided to do something fun during the day with Julia...so we headed to Dollywood (we'd been meaning to get our season pass anyway). It was a great day and Julia was a champ on all of the kiddie rides (= I wasn't sure how she'd do, but she actually threw a fit when I had to take her off the horse on the carousel and she rode the kiddie land rides over...and over...and over. I was dizzy just watching her (= You can see that by the time I wanted to get her picture by the water mill that she'd had it, and we didn't even make it to the park exit before she fell sound asleep...

Cooling off...

2009-04-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Julia had a good time today playing in her new baby splash pad. And she discovered that it's uncomfortable scooting on the concrete...something that I thought would prompt our girl to finally take her first steps. You can see in the video that she, of course, found another way (=

Top o' the World ( =

2009-04-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, now that Julia is finally pulling up and cruising, she's decided to conquer the jungle gym at the park...she made it to the top of the jungle gym today and was so proud of herself ( = Every time she went up the steps she would get to the top and then clap for herself...and she loved being in the mix with all of the big kids. I only had six or seven small heart attacks while I climbed around after her but I was so happy to see her get a little more daring ( =

Beautiful Spring Evening...

2009-04-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

It was so pretty out this afternoon that I packed up the cooler and took Julia to the lake...and called David to tell him that dinner was at the park tonight ( = Julia and I found a picnic table and set everything up and played in the water until David came over after work. We had a great time and had the coals hot and ready to throw the burgers and hotdogs on the grill when Dave arrived. It was a really nice way to enjoy (what we hope) is the real beginning of Spring (=

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up early to get to the early mass (hoping it wouldn't be as crazy as our usual time). It was actually perfect...we only got there about fifteen minutes early and we sat in the sixth row on the end...much better than the 10 am Easter madness. Mass was especially nice today and the choir was the best I'd ever heard them. Julia (who I intentionally did not feed before we left) amused herself by eating an entire apple and a cup of milk. She was an angel until just before communion when Daddy took her out to the foyer to wave at the other kids and show off her Nutri-Grain bar. They came back in time for Julia to get a blessing when Mommy received communion. Afterwards, we went to a really nice brunch where Julia was really good despite being very sleepy...except towards the end when Mommy had to take her out while Daddy paid the check since she got angry when Daddy took away her steak knife and threw a fork about ten feet, narrowly missing a fragile looking old lady in a wheelchair. Daddy declared her days of fine dining are over...and thus, so are ours. Still, it was a good day, and Julia got a new burst of energy when we came home and she saw her Easter basket waiting for her ( =

She's on her feet!

2009-02-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

Well, at 14 months, this is the first picture of Julia standing on her feet (= She's generally not happy to be standing, but she'll humor us now for longer and longer periods of time before she starts frantically looking around for some way down...other than falling. We're pretty sure it'll just be a matter of time, but right now she's still happiest shuffling around on her bum.

A day at the zoo...

2009-01-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth and Maggie were nice enough to invite us to the zoo on this absolutely balmy day (I mean it was in the 60's!!!) and it was great to get outside and get some fresh air (well, as fresh as any air is at the zoo...).

Taking candy from a baby...

2008-12-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

is harder than you might think. On New Year's Eve, I decided to let Julia celebrate by taking a couple of licks of her candy cane that Santa left in her stocking. David objected on the grounds that it would be too messy...I assured him that she would tire of it before it became too messy and handed it over. She LOVED her first taste of candy and was not about to give it up (the tears are just after I tried to take it away). David scooped her up and held her on his lap to save the carpet from the red dye but he was not amused by the mess (I thought it was adorable!!).

Christmas Day...

2008-12-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

After Christmas Eve Mass, we took a few pictures of Julia before getting her in her jammies to wait for Santa ( =

Photo Shoot!

2008-12-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

We took Julia to get her pictures taken on Saturday...for Christmas and her first birthday. She did fabulous despite being a little sleepy and a little hungry. Enjoy!

Mom and Tots Christmas Party

2008-12-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

Julia had her first Christmas party through our Mom and Tots group at church adn she had a great time (her favorite part was the Music 'n Me circle with the chicken nuggets being a close second...).

You'd better not pout...

2008-12-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

While we were visiting my parents in Springfield, we went to Opry Mills and took Julia to see Santa. You can see what she thought of the jolly old fat man...

Julia's First Birthday Party!

2008-11-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

Julia's first birthday party was a lot of fun and our little princess was extremely excited (although probably not entirely sure why). We had a Tinker Bell party and I had fun making her cake and decorating the cabin. We took video of the cake eating mahem, which I will post as soon as I figure out our new camera (= Suffice it to say, her entire face was purple, including the insides of her ears. The dress came off after cake and she spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her cousins and napping...not a bad day for a one year old.

On the nature trail...

2008-11-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Tracy and I thought it would be nice to take the kids on a little hike on a nature trail. They all seemed to enjoy it, especially Andrew who was finally free to let out all of his pent up energy...

Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg...

2008-11-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Since Julia's first birthday fell on the same weekend as Thanksgiving, we decided to rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and have both the Wright and Roof clans join us for both occasions. We had a great time and these are some pictures we took while traipsing around Gatlinburg one evening.

Such a big girl!!

2008-11-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Our little couch potato now has her very own couch to sit on while watching her favorite show of all time...The Backyardigans. Also, since she was so disdainful of sleeping in her crib but slept nicely on the guest bed, we converted her crib to a daybed...and the Wright household has been peaceful all night ever since. We're not sure why the bars so enraged her (it's not like she's walked or crawled any place yet) but we're not asking questions. I guess she just thought a crib was so immature.

Opry Mills with Grandma

2008-11-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning, the "ladies" all decided to head over to Opry Mills to do a little window shopping and entertain Julia (Both Pap Pap and Great Pap Pap were at the Titans game). Julia had a good time looking at all of the fish and animals outside of the rainforest cafe and Grandma took us to lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant before we headed back to Knoxville. The Aquarium Restaurant is really cool and we were lucky enough to see a scuba diver feeding live fishies to an eel while we had lunch ( =

Visit with Grandma and Pap Pap...

2008-11-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

On the morning after Halloween, I decided to take Julia to Springfield for a visit with Grandma and Pap Pap to avoid the Football Saturday Extravaganza. We got there in time for a late breakfast and enjoyed spending the day outside in the yard. We also went to dinner that night where Julia discovered she enjoyed Mommy's filet mignon much more than her own chicken ( =

It was a dark and spooky night...

2008-10-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

No, actually it was a gorgeous fall night on Halloween. The air was crisp and clear and the moon was pretty and bright (although not full). We took Julia for a walk around our neighborhood but only actually knocked on a couple of doors. Mostly, we just wanted to show off her costume and to let her see all of the other kids.

After we walked around our neighborhood, we put our big bowl of candy on a chair on our front porch and went over to some friends' house whose neighborhood really goes all out for Halloween. It was fun to drink some spiked coffee on the porch and watch all of the kids troop down the street in their costumes. Julia was wide-eyed looking at everything and seemed to enjoy being out that night (although there is one grumpy pumpkin picture below when she started to wear out!).

Halloween Party...

2008-10-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours had a Halloween party at the clubhouse in their neighborhood, so we took Julia for a while. Their little boy Victor was also a pumpkin and they were both adorable ( = Julia was super excited about the free pizza and dug right in (as usual).

A little artistic expression...

2008-10-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Since she had so much fun with the pumpkin (and I already had the paints out) I let Julia make her first creation for the refrigerator (and don't worry about the mouth smears, folks...it's all non-toxic and non-lead!).

Carv...err, painting a pumpkin ( =

2008-10-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Julia helped us pick out a great big pumpkin to carve, but I wanted her to join in on the decorating fun, too. Since she's not yet ready to wield sharp knives, I bought some finger paints and let her go to town on a mini-pumpkin ( =

Our lil' pumpkin!

2008-10-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today we took Julia to Maple Lane Farms to get a pumpkin, take some pictures, and just enjoy the fall weather. Since we were surrounded by pumpkins, I just had to put Julia in her Halloween costume and do a little photo shoot (but I forgot her green sparkle booties!!). She would have been subjected to many, many more pictures except our camera batteries pooped out too quickly ) = Anyway, she was adorable in costume and we had a great time.

Curly Q's...

2008-10-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Julia's hair is finally long enough to leave curly without it looking like she just woke up with a crazy mohawk (= Her curls are adorable and I can't wait until I can start putting little hair bows in it (I think we're getting close...).

Meeting my cousins!

2008-10-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Julia's Uncle Mike and Aunt Brandi drove back to West Virginia after a three year tour in Arizona. They stopped for a couple of days in Springfield and Julia was able to meet her cousins, Kaitlyn and Eliza. Julia was fascinated by the "big girls" and Kaitlyn and Eliza enjoyed playing with their baby cousin. They all especially had fun playing dress-up (although Julia was absolutely freaked out by fairy wings...no idea why...).

Laura Riddle's Wedding

2008-10-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Since Julia's godmother, Laura Riddle, was married this month, Julia got to see her first wedding. It was outdoors on a beautiful sunny day and everything turned out wonderful for the happy couple. Julia was happy to have Daddy push her around the grounds of the Inn on the evening of the rehearsal while Mommy helped with coordinating the ceremony.

Alexis and Gabriella's 2nd Birthday Party

2008-10-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

Duck, duck, goose...

2008-10-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

The playgroup trio...

2008-09-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

Every Tuesday, Julia, Kaitlyn, and Vincent all meet at someone's house to play together and to show off whatever new tricks each one of them has learned. They really seem to enjoy one another's company and it's nice for me, Amy, and Dora to get a chance to chat with adults during the day (=

Julia at the Playground

2008-09-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Julia loves to swing at the park even more than in her own front yard...I think because she can feel like one of the "big" kids even though she can't run and play with them yet. She's started throwing little tantrums when I try to take her out of the swing and she's even fallen asleep in them a couple of times.

I can do it myself!

2008-09-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

So, Miss Julia has decided that she wants total control over mealtimes...even though she still hasn't learned to control her spoon (which she's holding in the hand that's under the table). I guess things are just going to have to be messy for awhile...

Visit from Mamaw and Papaw Wright...

2008-09-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

Julia was happy to see her Mamaw and Papaw Wright and I know they were happy to see her.

Who needs spoons anyway?

2008-09-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Julia has always loved breakfast...and she loves it even more now that she realizes how much fun food can be (=

A Terrific Two Year Old!

2008-09-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

We were happy to get to go down to Georgia for Andrew Riley's 2nd Birthday Party...it's hard to believe he's such a big boy! Julia enjoyed watching all of the big kids and had a good time (despite sleeping through the birthday cake portion of festivities). I had fun making Andrew's birthday cake (and yes, I realize now that I misspelled "Birthday") and it's always fun to get the family together.

A day at the fair...

2008-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of the Tennessee Valley Fair and we hadn't been yet, so we headed out to the fairgrounds at Chilhowee Park. It was pretty early on a Sunday, so it wasn't crowded at all and we actually had a good 90 minutes of breezy weather before it got unbearably hot ( = Julia enjoyed looking at all of the sights and sounds and her Mommy won her a big, pink bouncy ball after failing to win the sought after giant Care Bear (you'd think with a bucket of 20 ping pong balls she could manage to get at least one in a bowl, but you'd be wrong). Julia took a spin on the carousel and actually quite liked sitting on the bench carriage, although she looks dubious in all of the pictures. She doesn't like to sit on the actual horses so we just took a couple of pictures after the ride stopped ( =

Go Vols!

2008-09-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Since this was Julia's first UT home game, we had to break out her cheerleading outfit for the first time this year (even though she was just cheerleading in the living room). Although she started out strong, she's now sound asleep on Daddy's chest and apparently feels the sluggish UT offense can hang in for two more quarters without her support...her parents aren't so sure.

Baby Vamp...

2008-09-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Since her top middle teeth are starting to come in now, I thought I'd better snap a shot of her "baby vampire" look before it's gone. It gives her an adorably goofy grin and it seems like I'm torn everyday between wanting to freeze her in time and looking forward to what the next milestone will bring. Her swing's the best place to get a toothy grin since she always laughs out loud while swinging.

It's a tough life...

2008-09-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

when playing with your toys is the busiest part of your day (= I was trying to record evidence of Julia saying Da-Da but in classic baby fashion, she refused to show off her new trick once the camera was rolling. She did decide to show off an old trick though and waved hello and good-bye.

Julia's First Word

2008-09-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Julia said her very first word today...and it was Da-Da. Once she said it, she couldn't be stopped and said it repeatedly all day (despite Mommy's best efforts to get her to give Ma-Ma a try). When Daddy got home and I told him the news, he changed his clothes in about three seconds flat and laid down on his stomach next to her saying "Daddy? I'm Daddy! Say Daddy..." until Julia finally put him out of his misery and uttered the word (=

Julia's Baptism

2008-07-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Now that Julia's adoption was final, we were
able to get her baptized into the Catholic Church. It was a great weekend and we were happy that so many of our family and friends
could make it (and a special thanks to Laura, Julia's godmother!). Julia was her charming self most of the day, although the baptism itself was during her naptime so she was a bit
restless through the ceremony ( =

Poor baby just wanted to sleep and instead she was stripped, covered in oil, dipped into freezing cold water, and held up in the air for all to see...
it'd be a rough day for anyone.

Afterwards, we had a little picnic and
celebration at the splashpad...Julia preferred the water at the splashpad
to the water in the baptismal and had a great time. To top off a great day for her, she got her first taste of a cupcake and made the most of her experience ( =

Julia's 8 month pictures

2008-07-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Since we both loved Julia's baptismal gown (and since we hadn't had professional pictures done since her 3 month pics) we took her for a "photo shoot"...and she really did great!

Swing low...

2008-07-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our friends Hanson and Elizabeth gave us a swing for Julia, which she LOVES. I put it up yesterday and as soon as I sat her in it, it started to thunderstorm, so today was really the first day she got to try it out.

Papa Bear's Chair...

2008-07-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

is just right, according to Julia. She looks so teeny tiny when she falls asleep in David's recliner and we couldn't resist taking a quick picture...

Julia's First Tooth...

2008-07-20T09:28:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, July 12, 2008, Julia's first tooth finally popped through (we had to delay posting until she'd let us get a picture of it). The funny thing is as soon as I took this photo, I stuck my finger in her mouth to feel her gums and her second tooth is now through as well! Her new teeth already make her look like such a big girl to me...and she's already angling for a cheeseburger now that she has some teeth (hmm...maybe next month...).

It's official!!

2008-07-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Even though we've been a forever family since the day Julia was put into our arms, today the State of Tennessee agreed to recognize it as well...so on July 17, 2008, Julia is officially Julia Noelle Wright and we are officially her parents. It feels so wonderful to have everything finalized and legal and to know that there is now no way the unthinkable could possible happen. After court we went to TGI Fridays for a celebratory lunch and then went back by the court to pick up our copy of the Final Decree. David took the day off so we came back home, snuggled, watched a bad movie, let Julia swim in her baby pool, and just enjoyed being together as a family. Ahhh...we can all breathe...